The document tells the story of a military couple, Ray and the narrator, and their son Joe. Ray is injured in combat but survives and eventually recovers. The narrator becomes pregnant and gives birth to Joe while Ray is still recovering. Ray goes on to pursue a career in politics after his injury prevents him from continuing in the military. The narrator is also in the military as a general. Much of the document then focuses on Joe's childhood and upbringing, with the narrator hoping he will follow in her and Ray's footsteps to become a pilot or serve in the military. It ends by noting Joe is coming of age and the narrator hopes to pass on her blog to him to continue documenting their story

2. It was one of the last days of autumn, when I happily answered the phone,
having just come home from the doctor, who had confirmed my unborn baby's
health. Ray hadn't called the last few days, so I expected it to be him.
But it wasn't. Instead it was a cold, clinical voice, shattering my happiness with
just a few words.
"When did that happen?" "And when will he be returned home so I can see
him?" "Thank you, Sir."

3. As soon as the call was ended I had to sit down, totally in shock. Staring into
the room with unseeing eyes I asked myself why fate always seemed out to get
me. I mean being in the military myself I knew the risks, but for some reason
one always thinks that bad things would only happen to the others. Maybe my
husband is one of those others.
But then again it could have been worse.

4. His injuries were very grave and for a good while the doctors weren't sure if
he would be able to make it. But then again he had been one of the lucky ones,
most of his comrades were dead after all. And Ray was a fighter. During the
operations he had to have for his injuries the doctors lost him once or twice,
but he always fought death and survived in the end.

5. I spend my days next to his bed, hoping that he would get better, that there
was still something of the man I loved left. Both the doctors and his superiors
had already informed me that his military career was over and he'd get a
veteran's pension, but money wasn't what I was worried about.
The military had been the very center of his life, just like it was for me. How
would he be able to cope without it? Would my love be enough to keep him
stable?
I hope so. And I also hope that the child growing in me will do it's part in
giving him happiness again.

6. Slowly, but surely Ray got better. He wasn't yet able to walk again, but he was
at least awake and on the way back to his old self. The first day after he was
allowed to leave he hospital and was back home with me he cuddled me close on
the bed and whispered in my ear: "I'm so glad I still have you, my angel. I'd be
lost without you." Then he carefully touched my belly and asked: "When did
this happen?"
I explained it all to him. How I had found out that I was pregnant right on the
day he left, how I had never found the perfect moment to tell him and how
soon we would have a child to complete our family.

7. Ray was overjoyed by the news and instantly pulled me into a kiss. He then
confided in me that this was one of the things he had feared during the long,
lonesome hours in the hospital, while he had nothing but his fears for company.
He had been afraid that after his injuries he'd never be able to have children
with me, that he'd never be able to fullfill our dream.

8. The knowledge that we'd soon be parents gave him an unbelievable boost. It
wasn't long until he could get up from the bed and actually learn how to walk
again. He spend almost all of his waking hours training, wanting to get back on
his own two feet before our son or daughter arrived. The doctors were
surprised by his progress, never having believed that he would be able to walk
again so soon. But he managed. For me, for himself and for our child.

9. It was late one evening, not long after Ray had learned how to walk again, when
I started having contractions suddenly. I screamed for my husband who had
already gone to bed a few minutes earlier. He heard my distress and was
immediately by my side. We wanted to go to the hospital so I could give birth
there, but there simply wasn't time, so I delivered our first child right in the
middle of our living room.

10. Ray was overjoyed when he first laid eyes on his newborn son. We named him
Joe, because the military was still what we lived for and he would be our little
G.I. Joe. Our son truly shows that he is the child of our love, having inherited
Raymond's hair color and my eyes. He really couldn't be any more perfect.

11. Just a few days after our son had been born Joe found an article in the paper
that made him fume in anger and throw the paper away before he had even
fully read it. Our state had decided that they needed to cut their expenses
and that the best way to do that would be to lower the pensions of all army
veterans. Like I said before, it wasn't about the money for Ray. He was simply
enraged that politicians, who had never even seen real war from up close, would
deem what he and others had sacrificed so worthless.

12. Ray spend the rest of that day on the computer, which was very unusual for
him. Generally I had to force him to even check his emails and yet there he
was, sending mails and writing on forums. If I hadn't been busy with taking
care of Joe I would have asked him what had caused the sudden change in him,
but between a screaming baby and stinky diapers I simply didn't have the
time.

13. Asking wasn't necessary anyway, because that very same day, just after I had
brought Joe to bed, Ray approached me. He said that he needed to tell me
something important, something he wanted to do but needed my blessing for.
Since I didn't want to wake up our son we went to the kitchen and talked over
dinner.

14. "Honey," he said to me. "I know you haven't read the article this morning, but
it was a shame. This country is going downhills instead of up. The only thing
politicians care about anymore are their own pockets."
I nodded, because being in the military I had enough contact with politicians to
know that he was simply telling the truth.
"I want to change it!" His voice held conviction as the words rushed from his
mouth.
I stopped eating for a moment and looked at him without comprehension.

15. "I want to be a part of the political circus. Become part of the town council
and the senate later, try to change something, you know. I've already found a
small veteran party that would love to have me as their voice. But I will only do
it if you are ok with that."
My dream had always been that we'd be a small happy military family with a
son that would one day move up the ranks just like we had. But Ray's injury
had made that dream impossible, so who was I to say no to his new dream? So
the only thing left for me to do was grab his hand on the table and nod with a
soft smile on my face.

16. Who would have though it, but Ray was quite the natural politician. Maybe it
was the fact that he hadn't spend all his life sweet-talking everyone that
could further his career, but he easily won not only the people's, but also
other politician's trust. The contacts he had made with high-ranking military
officers probably also helped and so he easily climbed up the steep ladder to
political fame. He had made the experience that the best deals could often be
made during a game, so friday poker nights with politicians and other people of
importance became a regular occurence.

17. We probably couldn't have managed Joe and our careers if it hadn't been for
trustworthy Calista. If you still remember I am a general, a job you can't just
quit because you have a little baby at home, since there are always National
Security issues to be taken care of. So it would have been the logical choice
for Ray to stay at home and forget about his political career, which we didn't
want to do either. And that's where Calista comes into play. She is a lonely old
lady without grandkids living not too far from our own home. She gladly takes
care of her 'borrowed' grandchild for a few hours, allowing both me and Ray
to live our dreams.

18. The little ones grow up so fast. Before we had fully realized it the first year
had passed and Joe had grown into an attentive and smart toddler. The
freckles, he seemed to have inherited from me, also made their first
appearance now that he was a little older.

19. I tried to spend every minute I was at home with my son, wanting to make sure
that he would become a well rounded and good soldier later. I even taught him
how to march...or at least tried to. It is probably a little hard to keep a proper
marching rhythm if you have to pay attention to every step because you aren't
that steady on your feet yet.

20. Ray also did his part in raising our son, although he was more responsible for
the fun parts of his education. I was a bit doubtful how knowing how to ride
would benefit a future soldier, but Raymond just smiled at me with the sweet
smile I could never say no to and told me that back in old times the soldiers on
horseback had been very important. It wasn't a very valid argument, but I left
him to it anyway.

21. Joe has brought many changes to our lives, but what still hasn't changed is the
frequency of breaking sanitary equipment in our household. I wonder if this is
still due to all the manipulations that Clem did or if there is someone new
sabotaging our stuff. Maybe my parents have found out that they have a
grandchild and are mad that I didn't inform them? I will have to ask my friend
if I ever see him again.

22. I think Joe might become a great pilot one day. He already knows how to
handle a rocket after all. I could watch him play with it for hours, it's so
sweet.

23. Time passes far too quickly, while life is good. I can still remember the
birthdays when Joe was still too small to blow out the candles on his own cake
and then suddenly...

24. ...he had grown into a big boy, who was already set to start school soon.

25. We also tried everything in our power to give Joe a sibling, so he wouldn't have
to grow up alone, but I just didn't get pregnant again. Maybe it was due to
Ray's injury or maybe my own body just didn't want to carry another child, I
don't know. We discussed adoption for a while, but in the end we decided that
we had Joe and would simply give him the love he himself deserved and the
love we would have had for his sibling on top of that.

26. I think Joe wasn't sad about not having any siblings. He has so many other
things that keep him occupied and that he loves to do. His favorite plaything,
right from the moment he got it, is his toy helicopter. As soon as he wakes up
in the morning he will get it and let it fly around the whole house, making
enough of a racket to wake me and Ray up every time. I think he'll really be a
pilot one day.

27. There are other things he likes to do though, that don't fill me with the same
enthusiasm as his passion for flying. Joe also loves to sit in front of the tv and
eat chips while watching cartoons for hours on end. That didn't worry me at
first, but then I met some of his friends from school and I have to say that
they are simply fat. Now I fear that he will suffer the same fate if I don't
take the necessary countermeasures. He is still too young to understand it,
but being a pilot is absolutely out of the question if he isn't fit enough and I
don't want his dream to be over before it has even begun.

28. Joe was very enthusiastic about his training at first. He especially loved to
jump rope. I always supervised his progress, internally smiling at how good he
was doing, while I tried to keep my stern outer facade.

29. Ray was also very enthusiastic about the possibility of Joe becoming a pilot,
because he himself had also wanted to, but never got the chance. He did his
part in preparing our son for his future by telling him everything that there
was to know about planes. I'm very glad that my beloved husband did that,
because even though I am a general the airforce had never been my speciality.

30. Joe often brought home friends from school which I generally didn't have
something against. I say generally because I definitely didn't agree with him
bringing home girls all the time that taught him how to play girlish games. I
know you might say: But you were I girl once too. That is a point I can not
argue. But I was always more of a tomboy and interested in sports more than
pretty girl toys. And I think so should be my boy.

31. I am sure that some day in the future, when he is a successfull general just
like me he will understand why I worked him as hard as I currently do. At the
moment he doesn't though. He tries to get away from my training units as
often as possible.

32. What worries me a great bit is that Joe likes to break my rules whenever
possible. I forbade him to jump on his bed only a few days ago and yet today,
when I returned home from work I found him doing exactly the thing I had
forbidden. Sometimes I wonder if I'm doing it wrong, if I'm too stern or
maybe not stern enough when it comes to his education. I just want to do
everything right and do the best for him.

33. I'm sure Ray would have helped me with Joe a bit more had he not been busy
with the election. But things were going so well for him and he actually had a
realistic chance to become major, so I didn't want to bother him with my
worries. There was still a little time until Joe would hit puberty after all.

34. Holding my tongue payed off in the end because Ray won the election. The
other candidates didn't stand a chance at all. I was so very proud of my
husband when he came home for a short visit after his triumph, the helicopter
waiting outside to once again carry him away to all the meetings and
celebrations he had to attend.

35. I hadn't talked to Ray about Joe, but there were of course other people I
know and trust, whom I asked for advice. We were still regularly holding a
poker night every friday and one day I made sure that it was a ladies only
night. Geraldine, who supported my husband during the election, my good
friend and fellow general Joanna and of course or trusty neighbor Calista did
have some good advice for me. Which I vowed to follow in the future.

36. I took my friends advice very seriously. Just like they had told me I tried to
use less pressure and make the training more fun instead.

37. And even though I never expected it to work Ray not only got better and
better at avoiding my attacks, which was the whole point of his training, but
also had a good amount of fun. Sometimes he even asked me if we couldn't just
train a bit longer, although his bedtime was already drawing close.

38. Even his friend Edith, whom I had disliked when he had first brought her
home, became a part of our training exercises. Her cheering him on helped
with target practice, so who was I to say no?

39. As I have mentioned before: Time flies, when everything is going well. It is
once again Joe's birthday and a special one at that. No matter how much I
want him to remain my little boy soldier, after today he will be a young man on
his way to adulthood.

40. His training was going well lately and if he keeps up the good work I'm sure
he'll get a spot at the military boarding school I applied him for. But first
things first.
If everything works out the way I planned this will be my last blog entry. I
have everything I wanted in life: a great career, a loving husband and a
wonderful son. Time to pass the torch, I think. I will give the password to this
blog to my son as a birthday present and hope he'll continue what I started.
So, good bye for now, my dear readers. I hope you'll be hearing from Joe soon.